Cheers: Any time you have someone like LT in your backfield, you have a chance to win games. Antonio Gates is a great playmaker from TE, and Philip Rivers is an efficient QB with a lot of room to grow. They feature a pretty good Offensive Line led by the super underrated Mike Goff, and we haven’t even looked at their defense yet. They have a strong line anchored by nose tackle Jamal Williams and end Luis Castillo (who probably hits better with runners in scoring position than his baseball counterpart.) Shawne Merriman is a nightmare for opposing QBs and they have a decent secondary. You don’t win as many games as they did without having a lot of talent.
Jeers: Norv Turner has never had success as a head coach. This team fired Marty Schottenheimer because of a petty dispute with GM A.J. Smith, and although he had some serious play calling problems in the playoffs, he got them to 14-2! He obviously had to do something right, and the Chargers really downgraded their staff. They also got rid of Charger defensive mainstay Donnie Edwards. Merriman was the flashier player, but Edwards made that defense go, and they’re not going to be as good as they were last year.
On second thought… these guys are a Super Bowl contender. They have a balanced offense led by an all time great in the backfield (two, if you count the guy blocking for him) and an aggressive defense that can get after the QB. I have no confidence in Norv Turner doing a good job, but there’s too much talent for anyone to waste there, right?
New guy who won’t meet expectations: Craig Davis. It was an absolute reach to take him in the first round, and even though
New guy who will meet expectations: Paul Oliver. This is a cheap pick because he was a supplemental draft guy, but I’m surprised the Chargers were the ones who ended up landing him. Maybe there’s something we don’t know, but I don’t get why more teams wouldn’t want to spend a 3rd or 4th rounder on this guy. He’s got serious talent.
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